Tim Soudan Quote Sheet

QUOTE SHEET

Tim Soudan, Rochester Rattlers Head Coach

On the coaching change

“I’m really excited to have an opportunity to coach in this league. I’m a little nervous. I know I know the X’s and O’s, but whenever you take on a responsibility like this you need to have a little concern. I have some butterflies. I talked to the guys yesterday and they are very supportive of me.”

On personnel

“I haven’t gotten through all the games yet but I’m catching up with games on line. We’ve got a really talented group. We are a couple of mistakes away from winning. We are going to try to tighten up the substitutions and transitions. I know the guys excited about moving forward. This team has a really good personality. We’re looking forward to moving ahead.”

On middle of the field

“We take on pressure and turn the ball over on the way up the field. We get a bad switch on defense and cause a numbers advantage for the other team. Teams in this league are very good at taking advantage of numbers up situations. Tightening that up will allow us to get a couple more possessions. It will also allow our defense to play 6v6.”

On differences between the game now and when you played

“Guys are more athletic now than they were when I played. The game is very similar in terms of tactics to when I played, but the game is more athletic.”

On Rattlers defensemen Greg Bice

“He’s a guy who’s a leader. All the guys look up to him. I am planning to name him, Matt Striebel, and Anthony Kelly captains so that they can help me out in a leadership role. I want to tighten up leadership and create focus. He’s a great player. Greg is very close with BJ – that came through loud and clear yesterday when I talked with him on the phone. I believe that he understands that this is pro sports, and that there is a need to move forward. Bice is a leader on the field. We need that to move forward.”

On Rattlers midfielder Matt Striebel

“I think he’s probably running into some of the same challenges that every older player has run into. He probably feels like he has lost a step – that he can’t break down guys anymore. I think he’s still got it. I want to give him the green light. The best thing about older guys is that they understand the game so well and they can take on pressure. The speed of the game is so much greater than college what with a 60 second clock and the game just coming at you. It’s easier for Matt Striebel. The younger guys look up to him. I just want to come in here and give him and a lot of our guys the green light.”

On his coaching style

“The one name that comes to mind for me is Dick Garber. He had such a great presence on sidelines. One of toughest part of this process was letting Ted Garber go. We justfelt like we wanted to move forward with a clean slate though. I am going to be a players’ coach. I am going to try to put guys into positions where they can be successful, feel empowered, and go out and make plays without feeling any pressure or anxiety.”

On assistant coach

“We are going to name Jaques Monte as one of our assistant coaches. He has five years of experience with the Rattlers. He also has ten years of DI coaching experience. Jacques has won a couple of titles including one with the Detroit Turbos. He understands the pro mentality. He is going to be a big help at the defensive end. Billy Warder is also going to stay on to help us out. He’s been on for a number of years. He is going to help us by bringing insight and stability.”

On what’s going well

“From watching tape and talking to some of the guys I get the feeling that our 6 on 6 defense is going well. From talking to the guys some of them think that we can clean up our defensive midfield - playing with two guys is a little bit difficult at times. I want to put the most athletic team possible on the field when we play on Saturday night. Crotty is unbelievable talent. I want to put him in positions to make plays and just let him go. It comes back to what we were talkig about with a coaching style. I need to empower players, put them in sets, give them the green light and let them go. When the game is as fast as it is at this level you don’t want players to be thinking about plays. At the same time I don’t want them to make the same mistake twice. We’ve got to play with passion and grit.”

On film of Bayhawks

“I was trying to watch our game film first to make sure we have the right guys on the field. I haven’t had the chance to see their film - not yet. I do know that they are very athletic in midfield.”

On Ben Hunt

“When guys get hot they tend to stay hot. They get a swagger and think they can make plays. That is something I want to bring out in our guys. When you’re playing with confidence and shooting the ball well you feel on top of world. I think we’re definitely going to need to be getting a pole on him. We have to be very aware when he has the ball.”

On playing at Bayhawks

“This is definitely one of our toughest challenges. This is all new to me from coaching standpoint. It’s not new for me as player. I will be setting the proper mentality in locker room - Setting the mentality at halftime because we have had a big problem in the third quarter. If we can clean up these little problems then we can be in game at end and have a chance to win.”

On Casey Powell

“His status is he’s dodging me. I’ve talked about me getting burned out as a player and I think he’s at that point. I dropped line on FB and he called me back but I couldn’t get to my phone, so he left me a message. I’m still trying to get ahold of him to see if any possibility. He wouldcertainly help our team. The bottom line is if he comes out for rest of way awesome, but if it’s going to be a spotty situation then we will just go with what we have. He would bring a complete breath of fresh air. He makes Crotty and Striebel that much more successful. Casey having young childen and living that far away I know that makes it that much more of commitment. I tried pulling on his heartstrings, and talking about the great times we had as players. It doesn’t seem to be working so far but I’m hopeful.”

On talking to players

“I’ve tried to call everyone at this point and I’ve talked to almost everyone. I wanted to call them instead of just sending out an e-mail to everyone. I wanted to talk to them personally so they know where I’m coming from and what my personality is like. Everyone I’ve talked about has been receptive. That gave me a lot of confidence. I’ve heard some comments from the guys and heard some of comments from around the league that it is a great group of guys. We’re still in this and we’re not giving up. These guys are competitors. They got into this level of play because competitors. I did not go into this chance thinking I’m smarter. We need emotion, a good game plan, confidence, and to go out and get a result.”

On Grant Catalino

“I think Grant Catalino is great. I had the chance to coach him as young kid – he came to my camps. He’s a Rochester kid. This weekend I believe he is the best man in his brother’s wedding, so unfortunately he will not be in the line-up. I’m looking forward to working with him again. He has a tremendous shot. He occupies a guy because you have to know where he is. He makes everyone around him better. That game he scored goals from outside, garbage goals in the crease, he was finding all types of different ways to score. In the last game they didn’t slide off him and that created chances for other people.”